Care of Magical Creatures
Declan Ó Móráin
Please follow the color coded seating system.
Visiting students will take the purple row.
DO NOT TOUCH ANYTHING UNTIL I TELL YOU TO DO SO

NEWT Roster
If you take Care of Magical Creatures, but are missing from this roster- please send me a PM.

6th

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Flanagan, Derry Flickwick, Sophie Harcroft, Joshua Chenoweth, Lydian Dagon, Gabriella Gracean, Kirby

Bell, Teagan Flickwick, Cassie Ketteridge, Mystique Sellaphix, Figaro Sorin, Rayven Trumble, Zel

Canterbury, Ligeia Grimlish, Evelyn Schlageneit, Sasha Wentworth, Peyton Graham, Rohan

Harper, Erin Neifion, Warren Slant, Gracie Tawse, Xavier Trishna, Georgiana Whitman, Theo Woolfolk, Neely Ward, Huxley

Dickenson, Taryn Eisley, Odessa Enright, Annie Reynolds, Damien

Faust, Heinrich

Seguin, Clement

7th

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Dodd, Walton Haris, Elian Sabern, Gabriel

McElroy, Trystan

Nadge, Leonard Steinbeck, Milton Jones, Tracy

Vladlena Savitskaya

Gaubert, Corey Jean-Paul, Valjean Fontaine, Élodie

Declan was glad to be back at Hogwarts. He had resumed his prior position as Care of Magical Creatures professor. How the students would react to his return was yet to be seen. Declan had been keeping a low profile, only finding himself on campus for classes, spending the rest of his time at his home in Hogsmeade. All of the Hogwarts students should remember him from the previous year- only the visiting students would be particularly surprised to see his face in the classroom instead of the burly beard of the giant.

He had a sneaking suspicion the students had forgotten many of the important lessons that Declan had tried to impart to them. He was especially curious to see where the level of common sense was now that they'd be under the tutelage of the giant for so very long.

Declan sat behind his desk, peering over the rim of his glasses at the steady trickle of students. Each desk was occupied by two small, round, wooden boxes. He had done a lesson similar to this his previous year, and he wondered how many students would remember it. Those that didn't risked making the mistake of opening up the little box to a nasty little surprise.[1] (Of course he was counting on at least one student to open the box for his lesson to properly progress. He was certain he would not be disappointed. He was teaching Sellaphix, after all.)

"Please be quick about finding your seats," he spoke from the corner. "The door will be locked and class started at precisely two-thirty." Declan kept his eyes on the students, waiting for the inevitable.

1.	Feel free to have your student open the box on the desk. If your student opens the box he/she will be showered with a foul smelling powder and then attacked by a swarm of small, crab-like parasites similar to fleas/ticks. They'll be bitten and itchy.

Gigi was so doomed. That tiny little badge meant she had to behave herself or Tapendra would kill her. Or Ignan. It was cool to have it, sure, but this whole obligations thing was still settling in, and it was pretty confusing. And frustrating, by Cthulhu. She'd made sure her uniform was just right, and even dug out a few accessories that showed off her House pride or whatever they called it. All proper prefecty, so Tappy could be proud of her, at least this time.

Didn't hurt that the Professor was hot. Short stuff, but hot. And Gigi was far more mature than she'd been the last year. That she was very sure of. A stellar example of maturity and sarcasm.

Who was still doomed.

She took one of the Slytherin seats, and then looked around at everything before finally settling on the box. She stared at it, and it, somewhat to her disappointment, did not stare back. Was Declan trolling?

But behaving. Gigi then sat up very straight, stared at the front of the classroom, and sat on her hands.

Damien strolled into the classroom still a bit giddy from starting up his classes again; it was a feeling of excitedness unmatched by anything except maybe the feeling he got when he was with his girlfriend, or when he was eating gummy bears.

To put it simply; he loved learning. Of all kinds; but CoMC was one of his favorite classes and he was looking forward to it. The odd class had grown on him in his time that he'd been at Hogwarts; seeing as he hadn't taken an elective like this back home in Salem. He had tried for more of Advanced Placement Calculus track; not caring for magical creatures track. But the change was a welcome one nonetheless.

Out of habit, he began to walk towards the front row of seats before realizing where he was supposed to be going. Instead of making a mistake and sitting in Gryffindor's row; he quickly got into the row for 'visiting students.'

He took out his notebook and a pen; still not quite up to working with a parchment and quill yet. It was a laborious task to be constantly dipping in ink and scratching down letter by letter; his trusty pens would do just fine for now.

After he was settled, he looked at the box in front of him. As the professor had instructed; he didn't open it up as he would've liked to, being curious and all. Instead he just sat quietly and awaited the beginning of class.

Rayven walked into class with a smile on her face and an extra skip in her step. She had a wonderful break and was so happy to be back at school and with her friends. She was especially happy to be in this class. She loved animals and was really looking forward to working with them.

She went and found her seat and put her materials down on her desk. She smoothed out her skirt and adjusted her prefect badge as she looked around the class. She had heard some things about Declan as a professor, so she was a bit wary but excited as well.

She looked at the wooden boxes on her table. She picked one up to examine it, but was careful not to take the lid off of it. She assumed there was some sort of creature hiding in the box and if it was that small, she was pretty sure she didn't want anything to do with it. She put the container back down carefully and turned her attention back to the teacher, eager to find out what the semester held.

Warren had been walking around the Castle the last couple days in some sort of daze. A few recent happenings were weighing heavy on his young mind. When he walked into the CoMC class though, he did buck up some. He had always found Hagrid agreeable, but lacking a certain something that Professor Ó Móráin had shown in his time teaching the previous year.

"Good morning Professor Ó Móráin," Warren ventured to Declan as he made his way to the Slytherin row.

He took a seat, noting that Georgiana had beaten him to the class. His seafoam eyes loitered on her prefect badge, until finally he sighed softly to himself and set up his station. He noticed the wooden box before he even sat down, but only really began to examine it once he was set up. He considered pulling the top up just enough to peak in, but looked around the room first to see if anyone had already pulled off the top and looked inside. Warren couldn't find anyone with the lid removed from their box, so for the time being he decided to keep his hands to himself.

He let the mystery of the box fall to the back of his mind as he waited for the rest of his housemates to show up. As he sat there quietly his dark thoughts from earlier began to creep back from the recesses of his mind. Soon he found himself lost entirely in his head again.

It was evident they had a new Care of Magical Creature's professor as soon as the notice of change of class location was circulated amongst the students - a fact which Sasha met with a considerable degree of relief.  While most of his classmates had enjoyed Professor Hagrid's personal, peculiar teaching style, Sasha was more than happy to have a changing of the guard.  With any luck, the half-giant wouldn't have left a paper trail regarding their less than productive conversation. 

It was a bit of a climb from the potions dungeon to the Care of Magical Creatures but, when Sasha stepped into the classroom, he was even more relieved to see a familiar face behind the professor's desk.  He'd always had a relatively positive report with Professor Ó Móráin.  Thankfully, even if Professor Hagrid had left a paper trail, Professor Ó Móráin might have thought to overlook it. 

Even if, over the course of the man's absence, Georgiana had gained a prefect badge and Sasha had lost his. 

He was disappointed to find sitting in the first row was, clearly, not an option.  After nodding a polite greeting to the returned professor, Sasha walked along the windows and took the first seat along the third row - closest to the window.  He looked at the pair of boxes on the desk, curious.  Even if the class had done this lesson in the previous year, it was news to Sasha - he had no recollection of any lesson like this.  Though, given the amount of time he'd missed last year, that was no surprise. 

He knew better than to open the box before being instructed to do so.  Instead, he slid the box more precisely in the middle of his work space and busied himself with setting out his class supplies. 

Due to a problem with a Venomous Tantaculea, Clément was almost late for the Care of Magical Cratures and didn't had the time to clean up a bit. Plus, a new teacher is suposed to be there, and making a bad first impression by being late isnt such a good idea, and he just hopped that a seat next to a window would be avaible to him. He would made him feel more relaxed.

By a miracle of his Karma, he wasnt late and managed to finally be there on time, walking quickly in the front of the teacher's desk and only saying ''Good day proffesor''. And to had to his luck, his favorite desk was avaible. It was totally back in the classroom, next to a window giving a view on the giant lake....the perfect place to NOT been seen. Clément never liked to be sit in the front or even in the middle of the class. He felt like everyone is looking at him or trying to read him like a book. He than open his favorite book and hide his face behind it. ''Language of the Merfolks'' is the title. He is now waiting for one thing, the begining of the class.

He didnt even see the litle wooden box on his desk.

Declan watched as students filtered in. Trishna's younger sister had- somehow- been named prefect. But she seemed to be causing little issue as she sat in the Slytherin row at the back of the room. She was soon followed by a face he did not recognize- no doubt a visiting student, and that was confirmed as he sat in the appropriate row. Declan quirked a brow as the boy pulled out muggle writing instruments but did not say anything to him about it. It was his prerogative, after all, to take notes in whatever manner he wished.

He curled his lip a little at the Hufflepuff girl with dreadlocks. How incredibly inappropriate. It was a shame there were no school rules against such hairstyles... Just against a specific manner of dress, but the girl was wearing her uniform and a shiny prefect badge. Why they bothered to give Hufflepuffs any type of position of power was beyond Declan O Morian. But he was not headmaster, thus could not make those decisions.

More students filtered in. Neifion- a Slytherin boy. "Good afternoon, Mr. Neifion," he greeted in response. It was the only greeting he had acknowledged thus far. But it would do no good to be rude to the Slytherin house he cherished so much. He did, however, nod slightly in the direction of Schlagenweit. The boy was a good student, if a bit troubled. Declan just hoped that he'd managed to keep his nose out of trouble the last six months he'd been gone from the castle. He did notice, however, the lack of prefect badge on the boy's uniform. It was about time for that.

And then a Beauxbatons boy came in, moving to the very back of the room at a desk against the window. "Please follow the assigned seating chart," he barked at Clément . "Visiting students on the purple row. Those seats are reserved for Slytherin house."

As a visitor to this school, Annie had never formally met the rumored new professor, but she'd heard a few things in the rumor mill that made her wonder whether the change in the faculty lineup this term would be an improvement or a disaster. As always, she was choosing to panic now and decide later. Did nobody at this school care about her foundational sequential knowledge base? They certainly didn't seem to care about her note cards! Why did nobody care about her note cards in this place? She was going to have to start writing them all over again from scratch, and start a totally new study rotation. Were her old cards obsolete? Was she going to be responsible for that information? Would anybody notice if she had a nervous breakdown and started eating them? That was where this new term was headed already. Coming to Hogwarts was really illuminating. If she didn't learn anything else during this peculiar school year, she would definitely be sent home with the knowledge that she needed immediate psychiatric assistance.

“Um, hello,” she greeted the professor as she stepped into the room, smiling an uncomfortable smile and breaking eye contact almost as quickly as she'd made it. The lesson imparted by Mademoiselle Desrosiers before the break had clearly had an impact, because Annie was afraid to pass any adult figure without tossing a strained greeting their way, just in case they turned out to be secretly terrifying. She turned to consult the seating chart, and some part of her was comforted by its presence. Charts she could do. She wasn't thrilled with being singled out as a mere visitor again, but she'd be lying if she claimed she wasn't used to it. She made her way to the designated row and set her things down at the desk next to Damien's, sitting down and proceeding to adjust her chair until she could see the front of the room properly. Like her classmate, she took out her things and poised herself for note taking – but in Annie's case, that required setting up her quill and ink pot, plucking each one from its place in her pouch and setting them exactly where they belonged. The little box that was already on the table was sort of in the way, and she nudged it a bit with her finger tips.

It was when she glanced up to nudge at the box that she noticed she was sitting in view of the Gryffindor row. She grinned, then looked hopefully toward the classroom door. If a certain seventh year Gryffindor boy walked through... and she happened to get to stare at him for the entire class... then, well... she wouldn't mind sitting in the visitor's row one bit. She kept that silly grin on her face while she dated her paper, glancing up periodically just in case a, um... person of interest... happened to walk into the room.

He'd known this moment was coming.  He'd run into the hated professor a few days ago.[1]  But he wasn't going to drop Creatures, not hardly.  And chicken out? He was doing well in this class.  He'd need at least one quality N.E.W.T. by the end of all this. 

He trudged in hoping to just get sat in the back, lay low and get it over with.  Automatically, his eyes found the chalkboard as he came in and groaned.  A seating chart.  With Hufflepuff up front.  "Bollocks!" he whined.  Rayven was there, looking chipper and shiny.  What did she have to be so happy about.  Didn't she remember what a nightmare O Morain had been last year?

Figaro dropped his bag on the floor and sat down next to Rayven, not bothering to make any contact with Professor O Morain. 

"Alright," he greeted Rayven and laid down over the desk, resting his chin on his arms.  He reached out and fingered the little round box in front of him.  Funny little thing with a knobby lid.  He wasn't even conscious that he was doing it, just fidgeting for the purpose of fidgeting and focusing on something other than how bummed out he was about this whole situation.

He only opened the box a crack when POOF!  A breathy burst rancid powder flushed out right in his face. 

"Agh, shit!" Figaro drew back immediately, coughing and pushing the himself away from the table.  There was powder all over his face and down his front.  He used his sleeve to wipe his face and then he slapped his neck.  Something had bitten him.  And then again, again, this time on the back of his neck. 

"Oh come on..." he mumbled.  He patted all over his sweater because underneath it, his skin was crawling.  Something was biting him and everything itched like mad.  He didn't want to speak to the Professor, but only he'd know what this was. So much for laying low!

1.	The Dark Lord Returns

Rayven smiled and gave a slight wave to Figaro when he sat down beside her. She knew he had a habit of gossiping and was hoping he wouldn't distract her too much from taking notes and paying attention in class. He was nice and all, but the classroom wasn't the place for conversation. It was to learn.

As soon as the poof of powder came out of the box, Rayven jumped and scooted as far away from him as possible. She didn't want to get any of the powder on her and end up itching like that! She was very thankful that she only examined the box on her desk and did not open it. She watched as he tried to brush all the powder off and kept scratching and tried to scoot farther away.

"I can't believe you did that! You should have known professor O Morain had some trick up his sleeve!"

Seating charts. It shouldn't have grated, such a simple thing, but it did. It was just one more reminder that Hagrid was gone.

Not that Taryn really begrudged the professor's disappearance. Hell, if she'd been offered a position wrangling dragons she'd have been off like a shot, Tournament and graduation or no. It was just depressing, being the tallest thing -- the tallest person in school again, without a hero of the old war around to remind everyone that she wasn't that strange. But Care of Magical Creatures was still her favorite class and she was determined to give this new (old? well, new to her) Professor a fair shot, whatever the rumors said. Even if he did hold the class indoors, which was just wrong.

So without complaining, she squeezed into the row dedicated for visiting students, mumbled a greeting to Annie and Damian on the way past, discarded the too-small chair that occupied her spot, and settled on the floor, just as Figaro Sellaphix cracked open his box and was promptly swarmed.

Taryn cringed in sympathy, its effect diminished by the impressed whistle that followed as she leaned over the desk for a better look. "Jiminy Christmas, lookit the critters go. Like fire ants on a honeyed ham."

"Hey Annie," Damien said as he leaned back in his chair, noting that she was surveying the room quite eagerly. For something, or someone more like it. The silly lovesick grin wasn't hard to interpret, especially because he'd had the same grin a number of times when admiring a certain someone he knew.

He leaned forward as Taryn mumbled a greeting, true to her nature; and got rid of the chair that just wouldn't have suited someone of her height. "Hey Ta- oh woah," he said as Sellaphix was attacked upon opening his box. Damien gulped, and he was suddenly very very thankful that he hadn't opened his own box like he'd wanted to. With a cautious glance at the boxes, he pushed them a bit farther away from him; hoping he didn't crack them open by accident.

"I've never witnessed anything like that," he said in response to Taryn's impressed statement. "But I'm calling it karma for whatever Fig did last," he said with a grin. It was well known, even to the visiting students, that Fig had a thing for getting into trouble and for doing stupid things that warranted such a punishment as the things that Taryn had compared to fire ants.

A different room, a different teacher - though at least this guy wasn't brand new and they'd had him before- and it should make for an interesting semester. After all, not everyone dealt with abrupt change so easily. Gabe admitted he liked the odd half-giant but he wouldn't make a fuss about it. After this semester, he wouldn't be coming back. As a student anyway.

Nodding his head in greetings to the Professor who had always seemed to favor the Slytherins more favorably, he moved towards his seat, eyes scanning the other students in the room. The no longer prefect Ravenclaw sat at his desk behaving as always and he made a note to catch him later to ask a business kind of question. The Hufflepuffs were being usual Puffs along and the Slytherins were... behaving? Blinking his gaze finally rested on one of the foreign students, and he offered Annie an easy smile before taking his seat.

Looking at the box on his desk he poked at it, but wouldn't open it. No doubt it was a nasty sort of trick like what the professor had done before. He wasn't going to be the one to open it this time. That had been miserable. And he had been proven right rather promptly by Sellaphix, no surprise there, being bitten and swarmed by those rather nasty bugs. He felt immediate sympathy for the odd fellow.

'Y-Yes, sorry profesor!'' he said quickly. That ''good'' impression he wanted to at least try to do just sanked like a ship attacked by mermaids, and so, he went on his assigned seat, feeling really uncomfortable being this much close to people. He was thanking himself already to be good in COMC, this time, it wont be easy at all with such a teacher. Clément was already missing the previous COMC teacher. ''What am I gonna do?'' he whispered before diving back into his book.

But instead of being captivated by the ''Swears and Insults of the Merpeople'' chapter, his eyes stoped on the little box he had on the desk. Sundely, a strange noise got his attention. A student named Figaro Sellaphix decided to open the box and recieve a gust of strange dust blew up to his face. Hopefully he managed to close it again, but was now scratchign himself as a Hufflepuff girl was geting mad at him. He didnt knew what to do since he didnt wanted to interfer between them so he just hided his face behind the book again. ''I guess I wont open it neither, than.''